News

Are you interested in a career as a criminologist?

12 December 2013

Criminology involves the study of crime, the criminal justice system and a host of related matters such as criminal law, policing and punishment. We offer students interested in studying criminology a comprehensive pathway from undergraduate study to a specialised postgraduate qualification.

Andrew Charleston, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

"Studying criminology at Sydney University has given me a broader understanding of the interaction between the practice of criminal law and disciplines such as sociology, psychology, public policy and other cultural aspects of the criminal justice system. Not only did I enjoy the diverse range of subjects to choose from, where contemporary questions about crime were discussed within the framework of current research, but I also appreciated the flexibility, which was essential in fitting my study around full time work."

Andrew Charleston, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

Our Undergraduate Pathway

You will first enrol in a Bachelor of Arts program, majoring in socio-legal studies or sociology, and study select criminology units, building your knowledge with experts who will equip you with key research and analytical skills. Studying criminology in this way at the University of Sydney means your criminology study is situated in a broader program of learning. You can complement your interests by enrolling in other units that articulate well with criminological study, and explore your passions in other disciplines at the same time as you build your foundational criminological knowledge. You have access to a myriad of choices across more than 45 subject areas, and can tailor your degree to suit your interests. As criminology draws on other social science disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, political science, history, psychology, cultural studies and economics, your choice to study our Bachelor of Arts program will provide you with a sound beginning to your criminology study at our university.

Postgraduate Criminology

Upon completion of your undergraduate degree, you will enrol in the most established criminology program in Australia, studying the specialist Master of Criminology offered by the prestigious Sydney Law School. This degree will expand and consolidate your knowledge of crime and criminal justice, facilitated by some of Australia's leading criminologists.

The postgraduate criminology program at Sydney Law School is among the largest and most respected in Australia. The program contains a broad field of interdisciplinary units, presented by some of Australia's foremost criminologists, all with international reputations and expertise. You will study core units including Crime Research and Policy, Criminal Liability and Explaining Crime, with a choice of a range of electives such as Forensic Psychiatry, Forensic Psychology, Indigenous Peoples and Criminal Justice, Policing Australian Society, International and Comparative Criminal Justice and Environmental Criminology, to name just a few.

Studying criminology is more than going to classes - it is about the opportunity to be part of a cutting edge research culture fostered through the Institute of Criminology. The Institute is over 40 years strong and is one of Australia's key criminology and criminal justice research and public education centres. The publishing and public education activities of the Institute place its members and students at the forefront of debates in critical criminology and criminal justice policy developments.

Choosing to study criminology with our experts at the University of Sydney ensures you'll graduate from the most established and reputable criminology program in Australia. For more information about postgraduate programs in criminology visit the Sydney Law School website.

Keeva Stratton, Creative Director, Quip Creative.

"Criminology was truly fascinating. Not only did it fulfill a personal interest, but as a writer, it gave me great insight into this foreign realm. Criminology also served to expand and deepen my understanding of the problems that effect particular cultural or socioeconomic groups, which has been particularly beneficial to my writing."